Maria Kanellis
Maria Kanellis (born February 25, 1982) is a Professional wrestler currently signed to WWE Friday Night SmackDown!. Latest News *While promoting NBC's Tribute to the Troops telecast on the December 17 episode of XM's Opie and Anthony show, Kanellis mentioned that she is currently dating a WWE cameraman. http://www.impactwrestling.com/Content.aspx?ID=23248, Impact Wrestling. December 17, 2008. __TOC__ Videos Trivia *Kanellis' favorite wrestler to watch is Shawn Michaels. Maria Kanellis Interview, Bill Barnwell, ign.com. June 16, 2008. *Southwest and United are Kanellis' least favorite airlines. *Kanellis has been asked to appear in Playboy since she was 19. Maria's a red-hot diva with dreams, Tim Baines, Ottawa Sun. November 5, 2006. *If Kanellis could choose any Marvel superhero as a tag team partner, she'd pick Jean Grey, Storm or She-Hulk. Fightin' Fangirls: WWE Diva Maria, Zach Zeigler, marvel.com. March 27, 2008. *Kanellis' brother was a soldier five years ago and her cousin is currently serving in Iraq. Maria News & Notes Inside, The Bella Twins/Christmas Gifts?, Ryan Clark, Wrestling Edge. December 18, 2008. Quotes When asked which wrestler she'd like to work with the most: Career history World Wrestling Entertainment 2004–2005 She competed in the Raw Diva Search in 2004, deciding to enter the contest after seeing an advertisement while watching Raw. Even though she only placed fifth in the contest, she was hired by the company. She stood out in the contest by giving fellow contestant Carmella DeCesare the finger after being eliminated from the contest. Maria began making appearances at the Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) training facility under head trainer Paul Heyman. She contributed booking ideas, and her work at OVW earned her a spot on the Raw brand roster. Maria was brought on to Raw as a backstage interviewer in November 2004. She quickly earned a reputation as the oblivious backstage reporter — Maria seemed to ask the wrong questions, irritating and amusing WWE Superstars and Divas. In 2005, Maria began to get very physical—in and out of the ring. She was defeated in her first official match on the January 10, 2005 edition of Raw by Christy Hemme in a Lingerie Pillow Fight. She also competed in a Fulfill Your Fantasy Diva Battle Royal at Taboo Tuesday for the WWE Women's Championship but was the first to be eliminated by Trish Stratus and Mickie James. In another physical moment, Stratus slapped Maria so hard that one of her fillings legitimately fell out. On November 14, Maria competed in a non-title Diva Battle Royal at the Eddie Guerrero tribute Raw show. Maria stood by herself for most of the match, only getting involved when she saw the opportunity to eliminate a competitor, a strategy that proved effective as she eliminated both Jillian Hall and Victoria. She was one of the last three women left in the match but was eliminated by both Melina and Trish Stratus. On the November 28 edition of Raw, Maria interviewed then-Raw General Manager Eric Bischoff and asked him whether or not he thought he was going to be fired. He then booked her a match with Kurt Angle out of spite, and Maria was laid out with the Angle Slam. As a result, one week later, Maria testified in the trial against Bischoff, who was being fired because of his controversial actions as General Manager. As Mick Foley questioned her, she answered, unusually intelligently, "Last week Bischoff abused his power in a way that was both malicious and capricious, and it’s this rash discourse that has led to a locker room of disdain and mutiny, and it should be grounds for his immediate dismissal." 2006–2007 In early 2006, Maria defeated Victoria in a match. Afterwards, she was attacked by Vince's Devils (Victoria, Torrie Wilson, and Candice Michelle), but she was saved by Ashley Massaro. During a commercial break that night, Vince McMahon announced a Bra & Panties Gauntlet match for New Year's Revolution between all five girls that had previously been in the ring. At New Year's Revolution, Maria was the first to enter the Gauntlet match and eliminated Candice Michelle and Torrie Wilson before being eliminated by Victoria. The match was ultimately won by Massaro. Maria teamed with John Cena (who, earlier that evening, had kissed her to calm her nerves) to take on Edge and Lita in the main event on the February 6 edition of Raw. Maria scored the victory after a spear meant for Cena hit Lita. One month later, Maria lost a singles match to Lita after missing a clothesline and falling prey to Lita's DDT. After the match, Edge was preparing to spear Maria, but Mick Foley ran in to help her. On October 16, Maria won a Fatal Four Way Bra and Panties match against Victoria, Candice Michelle, and Torrie Wilson to advance to the semi-finals in a Women's Championship Tournament. Maria, however, lost in the semi-finals of the Tournament against Lita. On the January 1, 2007 edition of Raw, Maria attempted to interview Kevin Federline but was instead slapped by Melina and called a "bitch". This led to a match between the two later that night, with Melina winning with a Roll-up following a failed attempt at a dropkick. At New Year's Revolution, Maria and Candice Michelle ran to the ring during the Women's Championship match between Victoria and Mickie James to stop Melina from interfering, helping their friend Mickie to retain the championship. For two consecutive weeks afterwards, Maria had two tag team partners—Mickie James and Jeff Hardy, respectively—to take on Melina and a partner. She lost the match with James, but won the other with Jeff. As a part of her entrance when teaming with Hardy, she mimicked the dance he performs at the top of the entrance ramp, a moment she later claimed as a favorite in her career. Maria began an on-screen romance with Santino Marella in June 2007. She also resumed competing in the ring occasionally, often jobbing, or losing quickly, in short matches. On the November 5 edition of Raw, Marella was confronted by the returning Stone Cold Steve Austin for criticizing his movie, The Condemned. As a part of the storyline, the argument ended as Marella received a Stone Cold Stunner from Austin, who then went backstage, only to return with a Budweiser beer truck to hose down Marella and Maria with beer. 2008 After former Playboy cover-girl Ashley Massaro's return in early 2008, Kanellis engaged in backstage segments where Ashley suggested Maria should be on the cover of Playboy, including at the Royal Rumble, to the disdain of Marella. As a part of the Playboy storyline, Maria defeated Beth Phoenix on February 18, to "earn the right" to be on the cover of the magazine. During her Playboy cover unveiling, Maria's cover was plastered over with images of Marella. After Marella offered an ultimatum of posing for the magazine or staying with him as a couple, she stated, "No man and no one is going to make this decision for me" and broke up with her on-screen boyfriend. Maria, along with Ashley, were defeated by Phoenix and Melina at WrestleMania XXIV in a Playboy BunnyMania Lumberjack match. After the match, Maria kissed the Master of Ceremonies, Snoop Dogg. As part of the 2008 WWE Supplemental Draft, Maria was drafted to the SmackDown brand. Maria made her debut on the August 1 edition of SmackDown by defeating Victoria. Later, Maria won a Las Vegas Dice on a Pole match to become the number one contender for the WWE Divas Championship against [[]Michelle McCool]], which Maria failed to win. Maria participated in a five-on-five Raw vs Smackdown Diva Elimination match at Survivor Series and unintentionally got McCool eliminated. On the December 5 edition of SmackDown Maria defeated McCool in a non-title match, which resulted in McCool kicking Maria in the gut later that night. Maria then got a number one contendership match against Maryse for the Divas Championship in which she lost. On December 22, 2008, at a SmackDown taping in Toronto, she was a guest referee for the Divas Championship match between McCool and Maryse, in which Maryse won the title. After the match, McCool attacked Maria for letting Maryse win. Wrestling facts *'Finishing and signature moves' :*Beautiful Bulldog :*Bronco Buster :*Headscissors Takedown *'Wrestlers managed' :*Santino Marella (WWE) (2007-2008) *'Theme music' :*"With Legs Like That" by Zebrahead (WWE) See also *Maria Kanellis’ career history *Maria Kanellis’ event history *Maria Kanellis’ gimmicks *Significant Storylines External links and references *Maria profile at WWE.com *Maria Kanellis profile at CAGEMATCH.net Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, Maria Kanellis, Maria